Product Description

Elenaor is young, high-spirited, supremely intelligent, heiress to the vast Duchy of Aquitaine - at a time when a woman's value was measured in terms of wealth. Her vivid leadership inspired and dazzled those about her. And yet, born to rule, she was continually repressed and threatened by the men who overshadowed her life. This is the story of a brilliant, medieval figure - of a princess who led her own knights to the Crusades, who was bride to two kings and mother of Richard the Lion Heart. It is the rich, incredible story of Eleanor Of Aquitaine.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102801 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
Praise for NORAH LOFTS 'One of the most distinguished of English women novelists' THE DAILY TELEGRAPH; 'A natural storyteller whose characters are neatly and believably portrayed: whose prose is smooth and readable' THE NEW YORK TIMES; 'Has a deft chroniclers way with her characters' THE EVENING STANDARD. NORAH LOFTS was a bestselling author. Reviews in the paperback review sections of national daily and Sunday newspapers to include The Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Daily Mail. Reviews also in women's weekly and monthly magazines, to include Vogue, Red, The Lady, Glamour and Woman's Own. Arrow books sold million copies of Georgette Heyer's 42 historical novels relaunched in 2005 as GBP6.99 trade paperbacks, most of which were written in the 1940s.

About the Author
Norah Lofts was one of the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, known for her authentic application of period detail to all her books. She was a bestselling author on both sides of the Atlantic, was born in Norfolk. She taught English and History at a girls' school before turning to writing full time in 1936. Her passion for old houses and their continuing history sparked off her much praised Suffolk trilogy, The Town House, The House at Old Vine and The House at Sunset. These were followed by the bestselling The Concubine, about Anne Boleyn and by The King's Pleasure, a novel about the life of Katharine of Aragon. Lofts wrote more than 50 books, including historical non-fiction and short stories.

Customer Reviews

THE LIONESS IN WINTER...
This is an interesting work of historical fiction by a noted writer of historical fiction and gifted storyteller, Norah Lofts. the author capably details the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most famous and celebrated women of the middle ages. Touted by the troubadours of her time as being a woman without compare, Eleanor of Aquitaine could certainly be held to be the first feminist.

Married first to the pious King of France, Louis VII, she bore him two daughters and went with him on an unsuccessful Crusade, where she was to have a number of adventures. Stifled by the King's somewhat misogynistic advisors, she and the King would come to a parting of the way after fifteen years of marriage. No sooner was she divorced and returned to her Duchy of Aquitaine, than she met eighteen year old Henry Plantagenet, who was to become King Henry II of England. Nearly a dozen years separated them but this was to be no bar to their marriage.

Eleanor and Henry were to marry, and she bore him numerous sons and daughters. She lived happily with Henry for many years, until she discovered that he had a mistress, the fair Rosamonde of legend. The break in their relationship would eventually result in the estrangement of Henry from his sons and the imprisonment of Eleanor for nearly eighteen years.

This is an excellent work of historical fiction, filled with the political intrigues of the day, historical events and personages, and a story that has withstood the test of time. It is a book that those who like well-written historical fiction will, undoubtedly, enjoy.

Sorry to hear you did not enjoy Norah Lofts.
It is a shame that you were not impressed with Norah Lofts book about Eleonor of Aquitaine. I agree it was only a thin book, but it was not meant to be her life history, but a novel which was the forerunner to her next book "The Lute Player" which is about her son Richard the Lionheart. Her books, although based on historial facts, are fiction and need to be approached in this way. I do hope that you will take the time to read another of her books, and I believe you will find them a very good fictional read.

If you want a more detailed account of Eleonor of Aquitaine's life, try Sharon Penman's "Time and Chance" and "Devils Brood", she also is an excellent author.

Too rushed
Eleanor is a complex and intriguing character. So it irritates me when her life is squeezed in a thin book like this.
I was looking forward to a lengthy and detailed novel about this fascinating women. Instead it was rushed and unpolished piece of fiction.
Norah Lofts has not impressed me